Two major French players in the fight against infectious diseases join forces to improve public health in vulnerable countries
The Institut Pasteur and the Mérieux Foundation announce the formation of an alliance to strengthen public health systems in limited resource settings and epidemic preparedness in the face of an ever-changing infectious disease threat. The agreement signed by Christian Vigouroux, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institut Pasteur, and Alain Mérieux, President of the Mérieux Foundation, accompanied by Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur and Bernard Sinou, Interim Director General of the Mérieux Foundation, brings together two major players in the fields of research and public health.
With a long experience in the field, working with the Institut Pasteur International Network and the Mérieux Foundation’s GABRIEL network, the two partners have already collaborated on close to a dozen international projects, demonstrating their complementary expertise. This agreement will strengthen synergies between their networks, bringing together over 50 centers on five continents.
As a platform recognized by public authorities and international organizations, the alliance will be poised to build projects, with public and private funding, to improve public health in the most vulnerable regions.
It will therefore help support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for global health.
The alliance, known as the Alliance Pasteur Mérieux International, will be backed by a foundation, created by the two partners and placed under the aegis of the Institut Pasteur. This will make it possible to jointly manage projects and provide a main focal point for funders from the public and private sectors, from France and abroad.
“The Institut Pasteur embodies scientific excellence and a Pasteurian tradition that has brought French medicine to all parts of the world,” said Alain Mérieux, President of the Mérieux Foundation. “The Mérieux Foundation, moreover, brings a very strong understanding of the field and the power of its network of sentinel laboratories, created in partnership with local public health authorities.”
“The Institut Pasteur’s commitment to this alliance is based on its expertise in responding to health crises in terms of research, capacity building through training, and cooperation with local stakeholders, thus contributing to the improvement of surveillance and warning systems in the concerned countries,” declared Christian Vigouroux, Chairman of the Institut Pasteur Board of Directors.
